The One Nighter (2 page)

Bad.

In all the time she worked for him, she had always thought of him as a kind old man, a mentor. Even at the age of sixty-nine, he still came in every day. She had been his right arm. For the first time in her life, she’d felt needed. Now, amidst the confusion of a lost pay check and a loo
m
ing job search, she couldn’t help but feel betrayed.

His silence at the moment of truth cut deep.

Eventually, she found out from Jill that Mr. Turner had a lunch meeting with the new owner. The day seemed to come and go, with her spending much of the time hiding in her cubicle. Finally, it was five o’ clock, and she was free to go.

Her intercom beeped.

“Can you come in here for a moment, Melanie?”

She grimaced at the receiver, thinking that it was just like him to still expect overtime even when she would soon be without a job. Still, she made her way through the girls milling around the entrance. Hesitating at the door, she took a deep breath to steady herself before knocking softly.

“Come in,” Mr. Turner called out.

She walked in, her stomach in knots.

This was it.

He looked up as she entered, putting the papers down.

“Have a seat, Melanie.”

He motioned to one of the overstuffed leather chairs. His silver hair glinted in the amber glow cast by the green executive lamp. The wrinkles surrounding his blue eyes seemed to deepen as he smiled. He removed his wire-rimmed gold glasses and laid them gently on the top of the desk.

“Well, I’m sure you’ve heard the gossip by now,” he began.

He shifted in his chair uneasily, and she was moment
a
rily rewarded by knowing that this was as difficult for him as it was for her.

“It’s hard not to,” she answered honestly as she twisted her hands nervously together in her lap.

“I’ve decided to sell the agency,” he confirmed with a finality that rang in her ears.

“I see,” was all she could muster.

“I think that you will really like the new owner. He’s much younger than I am, and I think he can bring
a fres
h
ness
to the business that I can’t.”

His words left a bad taste in her mouth as she mulled them over.

A freshness
?

Funny, the agency never had a problem making money before. It seemed that the freshness Mr. Turner was looking for was nothing more than an easy excuse. She continued to
give him her very best attempt at a steely glare. The cold s
i
lence caused him to let out a nervous cough.

“I don’t want you to worry about anything, though. I’ve already talked to Mr. Mason, and he’s assured me that he won’t make any changes in the staff for at least six months. I’m hoping that will give everyone ample time to find something else if they decide they can’t work for him.”

She couldn’t deny that she had known this day would come eventually. But she hadn’t thought it would be so soon. She wasn’t ready for everything she had worked so hard for to crumble. As she listened to him blithely reassure her, she felt as though years of her life were disappearing before her eyes.

“I see.”

“I made sure that your position will be secure, Mel
a
nie.”

He opened his mouth to say more but was interrupted by the buzzing of his intercom.

“Mr. Turner, your six o’ clock is here.”

She got up and walked out, refusing to look back when he called after her. Stumbling through the office with eyes blurry from unshed tears, she barely noticed the sympathe
t
ic stares from the other women. She collapsed into her chair, allowing it to take the brunt of her weight. Emotions began to bubble to the surface, emotions she’d suppressed for the past few days. After all the years she’d worked for him, all of the late nights, all of the weekends, that was it! He’d made sure her position was secure.

For how long?

She wasn’t naïve. New owners didn’t care about her nights and weekends in service of another man. New ow
n
ers only cared about the bottom line, and despite Mr. Turner’s assurances, when he signed the papers he would walk away without a second glance.

After a long weekend spent obsessing about the inevi
t
able, Monday became increasingly worse. Jill came over to her cubicle, exceedingly bubbly considering the circum
s
tances.

“He’s here!”

“Who’s here?”

“The new
owner,
and he is
sooo
hot.”

She watched as Jill disappeared around the corner. M
e
lanie rolled her eyes. She could care less how hot Satan was; he still wanted to steal her soul.

“Melanie, can you come into my office? There’s som
e
one I would like you to meet.”

With a heavy sigh, she stuck her tongue out at the phone.

So, this was the moment when she would meet the d
e
vil face to face.

She stood up, walking slowly toward the office. Stan
d
ing in front of the closed door, she braced herself for the worst before pushing it open.

Mr. Turner sat in a maroon leather chair sipping scotch from a crystal glass. She couldn’t see the man joining him because the chair was facing the opposite direction. As she entered the room, he stood.

“Ah, Melanie, I would like to introduce you to Mr. Mason.”

At his introduction, the other man got up, turning to sit his drink on the edge of the desk. He was at least six foot three, his charcoal suit tailored to meet the high breadth of
his shoulders. The fabric trimmed his hips to emphasize their narrowness. His short black hair was cut just above the collar of his crisp white shirt.

She braced herself.

Satan definitely knew how to dress.

He turned, a casual smile gracing the fullness of his lips. His green eyes began to take her in for a moment b
e
fore narrowing ever so slightly.

It couldn’t be.

It just couldn’t be.

Images flashed through her mind.
Naked bodies, ta
n
gled sheets, tongues
twisting, bodies crashing.
Her own voice crying out in the night for more.

No
!

Chapter 3

It was there.

In his gaze, she saw the memory of their night toget
h
er.

“Connor Mason, I would like for you meet Melanie Brighton,” Mr. Turner beamed, obviously oblivious to the turmoil she was experiencing.

Melanie took the fateful step that bridged the distance between them. She reached out to shake his hand. His hand covered hers, and she felt an unwelcome flutter in her st
o
mach at the memory of those hands driving her to the point of madness. Jerkily, she pulled away.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she said, her voice sounding husky to her own ears.

“Likewise,” he replied, his deep voice reverberating through her.

“Melanie, I thought since I’m going to be out of town for the next few days, maybe you could go over our a
c
counts with Mr. Mason. You know, get him up to speed.”

Barely listening, she simply nodded in agreement.

This couldn’t be happening to her.

Was she being punished for some terrible crime she’d committed in a previous life?

“Wonderful,” Mr. Turner replied with a beaming smile. Behind them, the intercom buzzed.

“Mr. Turner, can you come to the lobby for a moment? Your wife is here.”

“I’ll be right there. If you will both excuse me for a moment.”

He scurried out of the room, leaving her defenseless. Staring at the floor, she tried to think of a plausible excuse to leave, but unfortunately her brain was so scrambled that nothing came to mind.

“So, it’s Melanie, not Jill?”

Hesitantly, she lifted her gaze to meet his. “Yes, it’s Melanie. Jill is just someone I work with.”

“Why did you lie?” he asked.

“You tell me, Dylan? Or is it Connor?” she challenged.

Why had she lied that night?

It was a question she had asked herself many times.

She’d definitely had time to think about it over the past year. At the time, it seemed like a good idea. After all, she didn’t know him, and she hadn’t planned on seeing him again. Giving him Jill’s name, a woman who was impulsive and did what she wanted, seemed the most prudent thing to do.

“I don’t know. It was stupid,” she admitted.

He took a step toward her. She could feel the heat from his body. She knew how potent it could be.

It was a good way to get burned.

“I take it you’re not just referring to your alias?”

Steeling her resolve, she lifted her chin to meet his gaze. “Look, I think it would be best for both of us if we just forget that night ever happened.”

He nodded, his head turning to the side for a moment. “You’re probably right,” he conceded.

Silence filled the room.

“I’ve thought about you.”

Her breath caught in her throat. She stared at him, her heart beating wildly.

His slow grin made her tingle in all the wrong places.

“I even thought about trying to find you. But conside
r
ing what I know now, I wouldn’t have gotten very far.”

Pulling her lower lip beneath her teeth, she tried to block out the images he was conjuring. Taking a deep breath, she tried to still her rapid pulse. She couldn’t tell him the truth. It was something she had never admitted to anyone.

And she wouldn’t now.

Especially to him.

She would never admit that she thought of him, that she wondered what would have happened if she had stayed that morning.

She couldn’t.

No matter how much she wanted to.

“It was for the best.”

She heard the words come out of her mouth, but she wasn’t sure she believed them. He moved a step closer, leaving almost no space between their bodies, his thighs grazing hers. Passion smoldered in the depths of his eyes, reminding her of the things he did.

The things he could do.

“Was it?” he asked.

She opened her mouth, her gaze lowering as she felt the power of his body against hers. Her nipples peaked at the thrill of feeling him so close. Images were already sti
r
ring in her mind. Thoughts of what would happen if she gave into him again.

“So, when would you like to go over the accounts t
o
morrow?”

She blinked as she tried to follow him in the convers
a
tion switch.

One minute he had her ready to fall into his arms, and the next he wanted to talk business?

“Uh…
We can start at ten o’ clock.” She heard the words tumble out of her mouth, knowing she sounded like an idiot.

“That would be great, Ms. Brighton. I look forward to being graced with your expertise,” he explained, turning away to pick up his glass and sit down.

She couldn’t believe it!

Had she just been dismissed?

Chapter 4

Walking back to her desk, she tried to get a grip on her raging temper.

She couldn’t believe it!

How dare he dismiss her? Who did he think he was?

The answer was glaringly clear.

He was her boss.

And she had no choice but to get used to it.

As much as she wanted to walk in there and hand him her notice, she knew she couldn’t. There was no way she could take that risk. She had bills to pay. It wasn’t like she had a roommate or even family who could help her out u
n
til she found something new. And, let’s face
it,
unemplo
y
ment only paid enough to be embarrassing.

She was truly on her own.

But until this moment, she had never felt alone.

It wasn’t fair. Fair seemed to have left the building when Connor Mason walked back into her life. If only she had more time…
Time to come up with a plan, time to find something else.